India concerned over heavily industrialized fishing
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal held a series of meetings with Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partner countries emphasising the need for further enhancing bilateral trade & economic cooperation at the WTO Ministerial meeting held from 26-29 March in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
He agreed with EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic on the necessity of WTO reforms and the two exchanged views on the issue of moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmission as well as incorporation of the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement.
They agreed that both sides should strive towards completing the necessary processes that can facilitate the signing of the India-EU FTA at the earliest, so that expected benefits from this FTA can be realised by businesses and citizens of India and EU, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said on 29 Mar.
Goyal and the Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade of Canada, discussed expediting the recently launched India-Canada CEPA negotiations and expand cooperation in shipbuilding, pharmaceuticals, tourism and the education sector.
Sidhu and underlines the importance of clean energy transition, and agreed to explore cooperation in nuclear energy and other critical areas, including agriculture and critical minerals.
During his meetings on the sideline of WTO MC-14 in Yaounde, Cameroon, Goyal highlighted to UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Peter J Kyle the importance of outreach plans to ensure the benefits of India-UK FTA, and extended invitation to UK’s businesses to explore investment and partnership opportunities across sectors and regions in India, including initiatives related to rural transformation.
Goyal and Todd Michael McClay, Minister for Trade and Investment of New Zealand discussed pursuing incremental and practical cooperation outside the formal FTA framework, specifically in sectors such as sports and agriculture, including the training of Indian farmers in kiwi and apple cultivation.
Separately, Goyal told the WTO Ministerial meeting that challenge of overcapacity and overfishing arises from heavily subsidised industrial fleets, not from small-scale fishermen in India and other developing countries.
Fisheries Subsidies was one of the key agenda items discussed by Trade Ministers at the World Trade Organization’s Fourteenth Ministerial Conference (MC14) held from 26-29 March in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Goyal, actively contributed to shaping the Ministerial Decision that sets out the future course of Phase II negotiations on fisheries subsidies relating to overcapacity and overfishing.
The Indian Minister emphasised that Phase II negotiations must reflect core principles of equity, including Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) for developing countries and Least Developed Countries, as well as the principles of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) and the Polluter Pays Principle.
Consistent with these principles, India highlighted key priorities such as a 25-year transition period for developing countries, stronger disciplines on distant-water industrial fishing fleets, a permanent carve-out for small-scale and artisanal fishers, and subsidy disciplines based on per capita intensity, thereby broadening the scope of Phase II discussions.
Goyal told the WTO Ministers that fisheries sector plays a key role in securing India’s food security and ensuring livelihood, supporting more than 9 million fisher families largely comprising small, traditional, and artisanal fishermen practising sustainable methods.
He also highlighted that India is not a heavily industrialized fishing nation and do not have large-scale, distant-water fleets or heavily mechanized operations. Further, India’s fisheries subsidies are among the lowest in the world—barely about USD 15 per fisher family annually—compared to tens of thousands elsewhere.
He presented India’s balanced and people-centric approach to fisheries governance. Emphasising on India’s proactive and historical conservation efforts, including the annual fishing ban, Goyal underlined India’s long-standing commitment to sustainability well before it became a global priority.
India also underscored that the challenge of overcapacity and overfishing arises from heavily subsidised industrial fleets, and not from small-scale fishermen in India and other developing countries & LDCs. Therefore, India made a strong case in the WTO forum for ensuring that emerging decisions remain fair and do not disproportionately impact vulnerable communities.
In the negotiations on the MC-14 Ministerial Decision on Fisheries Subsidies, India engaged constructively and based its negotiating stance on the principles of equity, sustainability, and common but differentiated responsibilities. He also highlighted that further decisions must deliver an equitable and development-oriented outcome that protects both marine resources and livelihoods. Fiinews.com
